Sunday, October 9, 2011

Nobel prize won’t help re-elect Sirleaf, says opposition leader

Mr Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change party in Liberia has said the Nobel Prize awarded to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will not help her win Tuesday’s polls.

In his campaign messages since the coveted prize was awarded to his rival on Friday, Mr Tubman insists that “the prize was even to the disadvantage of Madam Sirleaf at this point in time.”

“It is the international community that believes that she helped to end the war, but this is not true,” a local radio quoted him on Sunday as saying.

“This is even making most Liberians and electorate angry because it is not true and so is going to lose many votes,” he said.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday shortly after Madam Sirleaf and two others were declared winners of the Prize for the peace efforts in their countries, Mr Tubman accused the incumbent President of being a warmonger and explained that she funded the former warlord and rebel leader Charles Taylor during the early days of the war.

“How then can such a person win the Prize for contributing to peace in her country?” Mr Tubman asked.